ANN ARBOR -- Michigan’s Nik Stauskas didn’t sound the part. The sophomore is the 2014 Big Ten player of the year on a team heading into its conference tournament as the top seed and ranked No. 8 in the country.

That’s the temperament Michigan carries as it travels four hours south to Indianapolis. The Big Ten tournament will be getting underway as the Wolverines leave Ann Arbor on Thursday afternoon, with eighth-seeded Illinois facing ninth-seeded Indiana in the opening round.

Michigan (23-7, 15-3), the tournament’s No. 1 seed and recipient of a first-round bye, will face the winner of that game on Friday (noon, TV: ESPN or ESPN2).

According to Stauskas, when the Wolverines take the floor, it will be as self-determined underdogs. That’s despite riding a league-best five-game winning streak into the tournament and capturing the conference’s regular-season championship by three games.

“We still have a chip on our shoulder and we’re excited to prove ourselves again,” said Stauskas, who was named the league’s player of the year by both the coaches and media after averaging 17.4 points per game.

Stauskas said the chip stems from what the team sees on television and social media.

“I don’t think it’s disrespect, but I think we’re maybe flying under the radar,” Stauskas said. “I think Michigan basketball has flown under the radar this whole season regardless of how well we’re doing. We’re perfectly fine with that.”

Michigan has been off the radar at the Big Ten tournament since winning the inaugural event in 1998. That championship, however, according to history penned by NCAA sanctions, doesn’t exist.

Since 1998, U-M has won a total of 10 Big Ten tournament games over the past 15 years. It’s gone 1-1 in each of coach John Beilein’s past six seasons.

This year marks the Wolverines’ first trip to the tournament as a No. 1 seed.

“I don’t think we’ve ever gone into it as a favorite,” Beilein said.

Michigan’s first task will be getting past its quarterfinal opponent, be it Illinois or Indiana.

The Wolverines beat both in the final week of the regular season, rolling past the Fighting Illini, 84-53, on the road and topping the Hoosiers, 84-80, in the regular-season finale at Crisler Center.

“The prep is a little bit easier because the scouting reports are fresh in our mind,” Stauskas said.

Illinois and Indiana split the two regular-season meetings against each other, with each team winning on its home floor.

While the Illini and Hoosiers meet on Thursday, Michigan will be rolling past snow-covered pastures in a team bus. The Wolverines will depart campus around noon and stop midway between Ann Arbor and Indianapolis to practice at an undisclosed location.

Big Ten rules state that a team cannot leave for the conference tournament beyond 24 hours of its opening game. Beilein said the goal is to hit to the road for Indy, learn who Friday’s opponent is, pull over, and practice.

“By the time we hit the practice floor at 2:30, we’ll know who we are playing,” Beilein said.

Earlier in the week, Michigan held an Illinois-specific practice on Tuesday and an Indiana-specific practice on Wednesday.

Now, whether U-M is overlooked or under-looked, it's heading to Indianapolis as the Big Ten’s top team.

“We play our best basketball when we feel like we’re a little bit under the radar,” Stauskas said. “Guys are definitely pumped up for this.”

Brendan F. Quinn covers University of Michigan basketball. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on Wolverines hoops. He can be contacted at bquinn@mlive.com